A chartered accountant has been arrested for allegedly duping 11 private companies by giving them fake electronic bank guarantees worth Rs 168 crore, Bengaluru police said on Wednesday.
The accused, 45-year-old Noida-based Ashish Roy alias Ashish Saxena, was arrested by the immigration officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after he returned from Kuwait, they said.
A lookout was also issued against him in February by the Bengaluru Police.
According to the police, the matter came to light after an official of National E-Governance Services Limited registered a case of cheating when it was learned that the e-banking guarantees presented by these companies were fake.
Investigation revealed that the accused used his professional network and contacted chartered accountants and financial advisors of these private companies on the pretext of providing them with e-bank guarantee certificates and received five crores as commission.
He was allegedly operating from Kuwait with the help of his accomplice, who is yet to be traced, a senior police officer said. Among the 11 private companies, nine are based out of Bengaluru, he said.
Police said two laptops, six mobile phones and 10 check books of different bank accounts were recovered from his possession.